A couple of questions from a fairly novice dog owner

NiceChristmasBaubles

NiceChristmasBaubles

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Hoping for some guidance here. I have two labs. One I got when she was 6, she's now 9. She is an ex breeding bitch from a friend who is a breeder (please note, reputable and minimal breeder and judge, NOT a puppy farm). My other is just over 2 and I've had her since she was a puppy (my friend bred her).

I'm relatively inexperienced in owning dogs, so please bear with me, but I have had animals all my life and had one dog growing up, and lots of contact with family/friend/yard dogs.

Both my girls are lovely and the issues I have aren't major. They both have very gentle natures and I'm happy for my two children (15 and 9) to be with them etc. And when we have guests they are well behaved and obedient.

I just have two things I'd like advice on really. Both relate to my younger dog.

(a) how can I stop her 'mounting' the older one - I know it's all about dominance but she also bites the older one's ears. Not to draw blood, but it must hurt a bit. I do tell her off verbally and make a fuss of the 'victim' but it still persists. I just wish my older girl had given her a sharp nip when she was a puppy, but she had had pups herself and is a big softie.

(b) my younger dog also is very mouthy, and whilst there is definitely no malice intended and she has never bitten anyone, I do worry about my children's friends and other visitors. She's also still very bouncy and although she is gradually calming down, she does tend to greet people with her mouth open - not in an aggressive manner, she's just very smiley. Can I train her to keep her mouth shut when she is being petted etc?

Sorry if these questions seem daft. The dogs in question are totally lovely and controllable, but I do worry especially in case my younger dog catches someone with her open mouthed greeting. Thanks for any help you can give and please don't slate me, I just need some advice. :) xx

ETA - I can and do go back to my friend for advice, but it's also nice to hear it from other people. I should also add that my friend whilst lovely and great at training her dogs as gun dogs and for the show ring, doesn't have children or much contact with them. My older dog was allowed to jump up (as a greeting, and mostly invited) - I've just about stopped that now. My younger dog's mother is also very mouthy. Not sure if that helps, but just thought I'd mention it as I think my friend thinks I'm a bit strict with them and have high expectations.
 
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Agree with your friend, they sound lovely happy dogs and too many people try to calm them and make them submissive (into Human behaviour).
 
Thank you for your replies. I certainly want them to be happy expressive dogs, and not dumbed down. The mounting I can live with, although I worry about my older girl getting hurt as she gets older as she is a much finer build than the younger one. I guess they will work that out though.

However, the mouthing does still concern me a little. People (especially children) think she's biting them and pull their hands away. As they go to stroke her head her nose automatically goes up and she licks and mouths them. It definitely is a greeting/gentle thing, but others don't seem to see it that way. I guess I'm just protective of her and don't want people to think that she bites.
 
The best way IMO to teach a dog what not to do, is teach them the alternative behaviour you do want. Dogs may not necessarily understand the concept of a punishment but you can create an automatic response - we do it a lot, whether it's the dog sitting for dinner because you've always held the bowl above its head (making the dog plonk its bum down and raise its head up waiting for you), or waiting at curbs in the road because you've always stopped to look left and right for traffic.
You could invest in a houseline for your younger girl - this is basically a lightweight lead without a handle (so can't get caught on anything) that allows you to control her a bit more easily, so no reaching for a collar. She looks as if she's about to start humping your older girl, you simply grab the line and lead her away. Repeat every time until she interacts in a more polite way, praise her and then leave her be - she will start to learn that humping doesn't work but standing there nicely is rewarded.
Is there any particular situation that the humping is more common in?

Ditto with mouthing. Your guests arrive, if she runs over to them, have them keep their hands out of the way and only acknowledge the dog when she is sitting calmly. If she is jumping up, have them turn away from her, and if she's really OTT use the houseline to remove her from the situation and try again. Once she's sitting calmly, she can get greeted - but if she starts to mouth, attention is withdrawn, and if she persists, she's removed via the houseline again. She'll soon twig that sitting nicely gets her attention from guests and mouthing gets the opposite - and her automatic response to guests will be to approach calmly and sit by their side for attention. You could even then progress to teaching her to settle on a mat at the sound of the doorbell/a knock and only approach guests when invited - Victoria Stilwell did similar for two overexcited Lab crosses who kept scaring the owner's visitors with OTT behaviour (think it included mouthing)
 
I dont think you should train your dog to close its mouth when its greeting someone- also I think thats impossible! because your dog is just being friendly- you dont want to teach them that being friendly is wrong. if an adult goes to stroke her and says she bite her- then thats their problem not yours!!
My lab x collie is quite mouthy towards children so we simply teach the child not to go near him- and always supervise!!

the mouthing thing towards your older dog probably isnt dominance- its most likely play. My other dog (lab) sounds and looks like a walrus when he plays because he is so mouthy! it doesn't hurt the other dog at all- if it did you would know about it :) (if your older dog yelps or you think its getting too much then you should tell the younger one off, but dont tell it off for just playing- it may learn that being friendly is wrong!)
 
hollieeb said:
if an adult goes to stroke her and says she bite her- then thats their problem not yours!!
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But if it happened out in public (or maybe even in private, given the new laws being put in place), it will be OP's problem because her dog could then be deemed a dangerous dog and possibly even euthanised. The new laws will hopefully mean that a case like this would be looked at and judged by the context - i.e. a friendly dog mouthing a hand rather than with real aggressive intentions, but a dog bite is still a dog bite and not acceptable to allow it to happen to a human in a public space, even if that person didn't ask your permission to stroke the dog.
A dog can still be friendly without mouthing, you just want to teach an alternative friendly behaviour - sitting down and offering its chin for a stroke, for example, will cause a lot less potential trouble than mouthing.
 
Thanks for the new responses.

Krlyr - there are a lot of good tips there. The houseline certainly looks good for the mouthing/greeting issue, and yes it does worry me that she could actually hurt someone or at least be accused of biting/trying to bite someone.

As far as the mounting goes, she only does it outside and I think it is part play but also a bit of attention seeking/dominance as well. She does it most if they are in the garden and I'm on the yard. Having had several forays to the local village by getting through the hedges round the field, they don't tend to be allowed on the yard anymore. :rolleyes: Don't feel too sorry for them though as they have an acre of fenced garden to play in. :) She knows that it's undesirable behaviour as I can't get near her when she does it, and if she sees me she stops. :o And it tends to go in phases - I think if my older girl is really pushed to the limit of tolerance she does turn round and 'fight' back, and then it's better for a while.

She reminds me of Tigger really - very bouncy and enthusiastic, but doesn't realise how big she is (not fat, just a very solid show type). :eek::p
 
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